*** indicate a scene with adult situations. If you prefer not to read that, that's where to stop and pick up at the next three asterisks.
The room got dark and cold, rage ran through her blood. Mal stood tall and faced her opponent.
"I am the daughter of Maleficent, first of her name: the Unbreakable, the Unyeilding, The Protector of the Moor, the Great Dragon of Auroria.
The blood of fae queens and conquerors runs through my veins.
There is magic in my eyes, thunder in my voice, and lightening in my hair.
I will gladly feast on those who wish to subdue me.
I am the Fire and Fury of the Isle of the Lost.
You may petition all you want but I will not bow," Mal growled out, unwilling to bend or break.
Evie looked rather exasperated and just stared at her friend.
"Mal, it's just a field trip."
"Wrong, it is a Saturday field trip. We don't have school on weekends. That's the whole point of weekends. The week has ended and therefore there is no school, which is during week days. It's self-explanatory, Evie. Furthermore, it's a trip that starts at 8 A.M. A time that should not exist at all, much less a weekend. I sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays. That's the deal. I go to class on time, Monday through Friday and then I get to sleep in. Field trips are not part of that plan."
"We have to get up early because the museum is an hour away and it's a full day trip. It's on a Saturday because it's an extra credit assignment. The school is being nice enough to drive us there…please?" Evie cajoled, pouting as best she could and widening her eyes and soften her eyebrows; she tried to remember how Carlos did it, he could always get her to go along with school activities.
As if reading her mind, Mal snarked,
"That only works with Carlos."
Damnit
Evie dropped the faux puppy eyes and tried to think of what else to do. Thankfully said owner of puppy eyes came into their room.
"Have you asked her?" he asked though from Mal's scowl he could tell she was not happy at the idea of having to get up early on a non-school day.
"Yes, but she's being stubborn."
"I'm not stubborn," she insisted, merely proving Evie's point. "Why do you want to do school stuff on weekends? It's not like they don't have us doing enough work for them."
"It's for extra credit."
"Which I don't need…and neither do you."
"Perhaps not now, but we're only a month into the school year and Auradon Lit is hard, harder than I thought it'd be. I want to get a nice cushion for an A," Carlos explained why he and Evie were going above and beyond so early. "It'll be an easy ten points. It's basically a free letter grade up."
"There is a wise saying I heard the band members say: 'C's get Degrees.' I feel like we ought to take that to heart and not burn out trying to please these people."
I'm going to kill Doug.
He didn't like to use his "puppy eyes" to manipulate Mal often, but it was rather effective at getting what he wanted.
But before he could utilize them, she knew what he was about to do.
"No, you can't use your eye voodoo on me," Mal said as she strategically retreated to her bed and pulled the covers over her head.
He can't give me puppy dog eyes if I can't see them.
Evie frowned, not about to let Mal get away with being petulant. With a flick of her wrist, she had magically removed the rose print comforter.
Mal growled in frustration,
"I regret teaching you that."
"But you did. And now you have the opportunity to learn all about the cultural history of our new home, Auradon. Which by the way, didn't you say something about learning all we could about said culture in case we have to escape and lay low?"
"Ughhh, don't use my own words and plans against me."
Carlos and Evie looked towards each other, knowing they were finding chinks in Mal's obstinate armor. They were wearing her down.
"Come on Mal, me, Evie, and Jay are going. We'll get to spend the whole day together. We haven't done that in a while."
Her boyfriend was playing dirty, reminding her that Auradon Prep had taken up much more of their free time than any of them would have thought. It wasn't that they didn't hang out, but given how much homework they had every week and all four had different study habits; their hang out time was not conducive to social bonding. So most of their time was restricted to lunch and late nights in the woods or sneaking into each other rooms. She had missed the time they would just have fun or cause mischief.
She never thought there would be some stuff she'd missed about the Isle.
"Or," she counter offered. "How about we stay here and have Jay and Evie take notes? We can hang here, have our own fun."
From her tone and smoldering eyes, he knew exactly what type of fun she was suggesting.
The museum trip didn't seem nearly as important any longer.
"There will be other extra credit opportunities, right?" he asked Evie.
"You guys, come on. You can blow each other in the museum," the witch's daughter said facetiously, although now that she thought about it, perhaps that would be kind of fun. Regardless, they had the rest of their lives to mess around, there would only be so many opportunities for extra credit. "I want to see the Hall of Crowns."
And so they got the real reason Evie wanted to go. Leave it to their fashion obsessed friend to go to any length for accessories.
Shiny bejeweled accessories, but accessories nonetheless.
Must be her human side, they're so obsessed with shiny rocks. I don't even get it.
Mal was now back to trying to get out of the field trip.
"I have to deal with these people five days a week, please don't make me do it on my day off," the fae pleaded.
"Don't give me that face," Evie warned. "Put the pout away."
But Mal wasn't the only stubborn Isle child, Evie was determined that they all go. It wasn't just the extra credit or even the crowns, although that was a driving factor for her, but she did want to hang out with them for fun. They had either been busy with school or magic lessons. She wanted to do something with her friends, and if it so happened to be educational then fine. She wanted to go somewhere other than campus or Target. She loved the retail store as much as anybody else, but there was so much more to Auradon that she wanted to see.
"It's a self-guided tour. We don't have to hang out with them. We'll do our own thing," which is exactly what they've been doing since they got there. Besides the band, most other Auradon Prep students steered clear of them. Perhaps their parents' notoriety was more pervasive than they thought. There seemed to be constant whispers and eye avoidance, even when Crown Prince Ben had tried to cajole his classmates to give the Isle Four a chance and include them in things.
Evie had a suspicion Audrey had something to do with it, as it was mostly the cheer squad at the center of the hushed conversations.
Evie's attempts at convincing Mal were met with stink faces, she also felt she was losing Carlos who liked the idea of spending more time alone with his girlfriend with a good portion of the school off campus.
Thankfully, Jay was there to save the day.
"Have you guys been able to convince her?" he asked, knowing that they probably hadn't. He didn't want to go either but he was much more willing to go with whatever the others wanted.
They both shook their head and Mal looked even grumpier.
Why were all her friends plotting against her?
Amateurs.
Jay thought to himself, after being friends with her so long he was surprised they didn't know the real key to Mal's compliance.
"The museum has a really nice cafeteria," Jay tempted his friend.
It worked instantly, her frown gone and it was replaced with intrigue.
"What kind?"
"One that has a famous dessert called Super Stuffed Strawberry Shortcake."
He had handed her a print out of the museum's cafeteria menu, their prize dessert front and center. A scrumptious strawberry shortcake that looked to be as big as a plate and overflowing with Chantilly cream and strawberries between two decedent layers of shortcake.
From Mal's "ohhhh" lips, he smiled at knowing his friend so well and mouthed "you're welcome" to Carlos and Evie for getting their entire foursome to go to this field trip.
Carlos rolled his eyes and sarcastically mouthed "ha, ha ha" and then flipped him off while Mal was still busy planning on what she was going to eat.
"Ok, I guess I'll go," Mal finally decided. She thought it probably wouldn't be that bad, especially if they could ditch the crowd and look at what they wanted. And she did promise to help them with their Auradon Lit homework, it was only fair as they helped her and Jay with Chemistry and Calculus.
She eyed the stack of books on her end table, all research about Auradon and some for fun. The library was a million times bigger than what they had on the Isle. Books being rather rare and most were outdated science texts the mad scientists had managed to smuggle onto the island. The other tomes consisted mainly of children's literature, all biased fairy tales against the villain occupants, donated from the mainland as well as adult romance novels which she was forbidden to read, also from donations.
She and Jay had already burned through the reading list for class and each had gotten a mountain of books they thought looked interesting.
"I'm going to the library to study. Do you guys need me to proof your papers?" Mal offered as she gathered the books that were due and her own text books for studying.
Although most students were content to put off homework until Sunday evening, the Four preferred to use their free time on weekends together. None of them liked to rush and procrastinate, a luxury never given to them while on the Isle. When they had a task, it had to be done immediately and with as much care as the project warranted.
While they didn't care for the threat of punishment, which could be rather severe given their parents, it did help them create a strong work ethic and made their stellar grades at Auradon Prep possible.
Evie, Carlos, and Jay each handed her their work they wanted checked over; Jay and Carlos had them handy because the girls' dorm was their designated study and homework room. Mal handed over her chemistry and math homework to Carlos for reciprocation. And she gave her own paper to Jay for proofing.
With a kiss goodbye to Carlos, she waved to the others and made her way to the Auradon Prep Library which was just a quick walk down a lovely tree lined path from the dorms.
The Queen Belle Memorial Library at Auradon Prep was a sight to behold. She had thought the dorms and classrooms were luxurious, the library was stately and a loving monument to the written word. The floors were a deep green marble, the coffered ceilings accented with art deco moldings and rose designs, and grand marble columns holding French designed sconces that illuminated the room with a soft yellow glow, so as not to be harsh on the eyes or the books.
She went to her favorite spot, a large oak carved desk where she could spread out her books and against large windows that peered out into the woods. It was her own private, silent sanctuary.
She first started on her reading, as she could quickly do it and get it out of the way. Most of the homework was simple. Read the chapters, answer the questions at the end of said chapter. Most teachers plainly said that if students completed that, then they were entitled to a "C." If they wanted a "B" then there were a few more questions they had to answer. If they wanted an "A", then they had a short essay or some other simple project they had to complete. Auradon Prep had a tier system where the students chose what grade they wanted. If they wanted to be average and do the bare minimum, then they simply had to read the material and prove they read it by answering a few questions. If they wanted something more, then they answered a few more questions above that minimum. If they wanted to be counted as something extraordinary, which is what they considered those who got As to be, then they would have to go above and beyond what was expected of them.
Of course the Four always did "A homework", they didn't understand how others would pass it up as it was basically idiot proof to get a good grade in those classes.
A couple hours had passed, she was read up and had done all the projects to get an A. All she had left was whatever re-dos Carlos had marked for her math and science homework. She had written her revisions on their papers, so overall no one should have more than an hour of editing to do on Sunday. That meant they had pretty much the entire weekend to themselves.
Saturday would be spent at a museum. She still wasn't looking forward to it but she was curious as to the dessert and it had been weeks since they went anywhere besides the school and surrounding woods.
She looked at the clock and saw that there was only an hour left for library hours, although it might as well have been closed since she was virtually the only occupant. She had only seen the middle aged librarian puttering about, the woman always gave her scathing looks as if it were her own personal library and Mal was intruding.
She didn't have enough time to look around for other items to check out but she could always come back the next day. She needed to return the books she already had or she would be fined.
Of course when she wants the librarian to be around, the woman was nowhere to be found, probably wanting to fine Mal an exorbitant amount as to deter her from coming to the library.
Thankfully, a wonderful woman in yellow came to her rescue.
"Hi, Ms. Charisse," Mal greeted politely.
"Oh Mal, call me Regina," she kindly insisted, probably thinking she was a "cool" adult that had a rapport with the students.
"No, I don't think I will," Mal joked but also pretty sure it was impolite to call an adult, even one that gave her permission, by her first name. Ms. Charisse might have been a volunteer, Mal only ever saw her here and there – she seemed to be able to work whenever the mood struck her – that didn't mean Mal would ever address her so informally.
Mal unloaded the stack of books she was returning, Ms. Charisse made quick work of logging them back in.
"Did you read all these already?" the adult was impressed, she was convinced most students didn't even know Auradon Prep had a library.
"Yeah, Jay and I go through them pretty quickly. We like to read," Mal replied simply, she didn't understand why adults made such a big deal that they liked to read. Sometimes she thought the teachers saw them as exotic animals that belonged in a zoo.
The library had tons of free books, why wouldn't they take advantage of that? She didn't particularly care for the "praise" the teachers gave, it felt rather condescending to her ears but maybe it was a cultural misunderstanding.
Guess she would learn something from the museum field trip.
"Oh, Romeo and Juliet," Ms. Charisse cooed over her favorite book. "How did you like it?"
"I didn't."
"Oh," the volunteer replied, a little shocked the teen had put it so succinctly. "Why not?" she asked out of curiosity, knowing the teen had ever right not to like anything she wanted but still would love to hear her opinions.
"A lot of it seemed very…unnecessary."
"Love is unnecessary?" Ms. Charisse asked with a smile, wondering if she was one of those surly teens who thought such love was stupid. "Or maybe they were too young for such things?"
"No, I got the love part," thinking back to her own relationship with Carlos. While Cruella and Maleficent weren't exactly at war with each other, her relationship with him was just as forbidden. "I didn't get the convoluted plan to fake her death. Juliet had the choice to either marry Paris or be disowned. Why didn't she just say 'no' and be disowned?"
That was a good question and it had Ms. Charisse stumped for a minute.
"Well, their love was so all encompassing they couldn't think straight. That's what the two star-crossed lovers were supposed to represent, love so deep, young, and consuming that it was fated to be doomed."
"I'm not sure if I would call stupidity, fate; but ok."
Not that most of the teens had an opinion about Romeo and Juliet beyond what was asked of them for class but it appeared Mal had some strong ones.
"You don't think our emotions could over power us to the point of self-destruction?"
"No, I can accept that it's a thing that happens. Not to me…but other people. But the Friar wasn't the one in love, and he's the one who came up with the plan. Why did he, as not only the adult but the one supposedly with a clear head, not tell her to just wait it out? From the book, it didn't appear that anyone was going to hold her at sword point to marry Paris. She had a choice, marry or be disowned. Juliet must have thought that at some point she would have to be disowned anyway. Either by not marrying Paris or some other guy of her parents' choice, or it would have eventually come to light she married Romeo. That truth might have been apparent in a couple months, they did consummate their marriage. So lets say Juliet was so consumed with love that she literally did not think of those things when she married Romeo. The fact she went to the Friar and asked for help meant that she was open to at least some sort of deliberative process. So when she was talking to the Friar, that would have been the time to actually try to think things through. Lets say she's still too addled with love, the Friar's best plan included faking her death with a potion? What does her dying then going with Romeo where he was banished do that simply being disowned wouldn't have?"
Mal also had some opinions on using a sleeping draught on a potentially pregnant teenager. The Friar was the one to marry them, in general a man of the cloth was one to protect the unborn. Any sleeping draught worth its ingredients would have been detrimental to pregnancy. She had made enough of them for her mother and others. She wasn't about to admit that to an Auradonian adult, no matter how friendly they were to each other, so she kept that part to herself.
Ms. Charisse could admit to herself that she had never thought of the Friar's shortcomings being part of the pair's doomed love story instead of fate.
"I would have to think about that, I'm not sure."
Now Mal was surprised, an adult actually admitting they didn't know something.
It felt nice that her opinion was at least being thoroughly considered. She assumed she would just be written off as not understanding since they were two humans and fae tended to think more linearly and logically.
"Well…thanks for checking in my books Ms. Charisse," Mal said, gathering to leave and join the others for a late dinner.
"No problem, Mal. Do come back because I'm going to have an answer for you."
The teen smiled, doubtful the woman would come up with a reason that would satisfy her but at least she treated her like a young adult and not some silly child.
"Will do. Night."
Ms. Charisse went about some other administrative tasks at the librarian desk and started to do some closing duties, always happy to help Dixie Millechoses, the school librarian.
She couldn't help but reach for her favorite novel, re-reading it and getting lost in the story of two star-crossed lovers in fair Verona. She felt she was reading it anew, trying to decipher it with Mal's point of view.
It certainly made it an interesting reread.
So engrossed in the book with new eyes, she didn't hear the soft footsteps coming towards her.
"Hey mom, I knew I'd find you here; nose in a book," Crown Prince Ben teased his mother.
"Good Evening, Your Majesty," Audrey said politely, a small curtsey as custom dictated; as Queen of the UKA, Belle was entitled to deference, no matter what she wore.
Queen Belle smiled at her son and politely acknowledged his girlfriend.
"Ben, Audrey. What brings you to the library?"
"I heard you were 'volunteering' again, a little birdy told me," he joked, it was one of the domestic goblins that knows to alert the Crown Prince when his mother was on school grounds when she didn't make it public knowledge. She had a habit of dressing casually and acting as a library volunteer. To her delight and consternation, there were never enough students in the library to ever recognize she was there and spread the word. She got some privacy in her favorite library, one she designed herself, but she did wish the students would utilize it more. "I thought we could grab a late dinner in my suite."
"That would be lovely, dear," she was happy to join her son and see how school was going.
"Reading Romeo and Juliet again?" although Ben wasn't surprised, it was his mother's favorite book.
"Yes, I had a surprising conversation about it. Made me re-think a few things. I'm rereading with a fresh perspective."
"Oh, I love Romeo and Juliet too," Audrey agreed right away.
There was always something Belle never quite trusted about Princess Audrey. Something about the girl seemed so self-absorbed, her smile just never reached her eyes and seemed faked.
Belle kept her opinion to herself. Her Ben was smart, either there was more to Audrey than she knew or he would wise up and move on to someone else. She just had to hope he behaved as a gentleman and future king should and there were no surprise grandbabies.
She was at least thankful Audrey was raised a traditional princess and it was unlikely she would use her sex to entrap her son for the Queenship.
She just wished Audrey wasn't such a kiss-up.
"I just think it's so sad they had to die. Like if only they had cell phones back then. A quick text and so much misunderstanding would have been avoided."
Belle smiled, knowing that was the depth of Audrey's analysis and she felt the girl was really trying.
She guessed they couldn't all be critical thinkers, but she had to admit she's rather talk to someone who disliked her favorite book with well thought out reasons than someone who superficially liked it and only thought the problem was a simple miscommunication that could have been solved with modern technology.
"Is pops in town too?" Ben asked, hopeful.
Belle shook her head "no," her lips tight in anger at her husband. King Adam had been infuriated to know exactly whom his son chose to come to Auradon Prep. The King had assumed his son would choose children of henchmen, or a villain that hadn't caused so much grief or damage. Perhaps Dr. Facilier, a newer addition to the Isle and not even from Auradon. New Orleans was in a country east of Auradon and a completely different continent. They had banished him to the Isle of the Lost as a favor to Prince Naveen, a royal from the neighboring kingdom of Maldonia. It was rumored the villain had a daughter, someone no one in Auradon would resent coming to their soil.
King Adam had a hard time in general with his son' project, but to have the children of the four most reviled and hated villains in his land? That had caused a family feud that persisted to that day.
It didn't help that gossip magazines had caught wind of familial strife within the Royal Family. Ben was more than willing to try to meet his dad half way, but King Adam still sometimes had that Beastly temper and stubbornness to match.
"Oh well, we'll catch him next time. How about I escort you two lovely ladies to dinner?" Ben smiled through the disappointment.
He then walked his girlfriend and his mother to his suite, where a private dinner waited for them.
Mal had kept her promise; she signed up to go to the museum for extra credit. Jay had to literally carry her from the dorms to the bus, as she kept falling asleep at breakfast, but it was probably for the best as she still had an issue with motion sickness. Sleeping through the trip was better than being nauseated for an hour. Carlos didn't mind, he rather liked having her lean against him while she slept. He ignored their chaperone's disapproving stare, knowing it was against the rules to be so close to another student. But the adult had heard of Mal's issues with driving and they weren't doing anything overtly inappropriate so she let it slide.
The hour went by quickly, the three of the Four that were awake the entire trip liked to watch the scenery go by. Still amazed at how quickly the land could pass them by in a bus, nothing like it on the Isle.
There were so many things Auradon had that the Isle lacked, they had lost count of them.
If Mal wasn't annoyed enough of having to do school activities on the weekend, she was doubly annoyed she had to wear her school uniform to the museum. Since it was technically a school event, they had to still dress appropriately as if they were on campus. She didn't understand why simple jeans and a top was so outrageous to the faculty.
But when she got off the bus and there was a cadre of reporters swarming the front of the museum, she understood that no matter where the students went, they were being watched and had to portray a certain appearance.
She still thought it was stupid, but she understood their reasons.
Mal thought it was so weird how obsessed the rest of Auradon was with the nobles and Royal Family. There were literal television shows dedicated to news and gossip about the Auradon Elite, their favorite topic seemed to be the Isle Four lately.
Crown Prince Ben had apologized for the ruckus the paparazzi forced upon them but it was all a part of the program. They had to show the rest of the country they were just normal teenagers trying to get the best education they could. At least that's what Ben was hoping they could depict.
The four of them had consciously avoided the press at all costs, none of them had any interest in talking to reporters. They had all gotten adept at turning their heads and avoiding the flashing lights whenever they had left campus. None of them answered any questions that were pelted at them from all sides.
What do you like best about Auradon Prep?
Why did you accept placement in Auradon?
Who is your father?
Who is your mother?
Is it true your mother has opponents on the Isle killed?
Is it true your mother owns a whore house?
Are you here to finish the work of your mother?
Does House Dornröschen have to worry about your presence?
All those questions and more were hurled at them at lightning speed, even if they had wanted to answer anything, they could hardly tell which questions were directed at whom.
The noise died down immediately when they stepped into the museum, it was another grand castle in miniature donated for educational purposes.
How is it that these people are so rich they just give palaces away?
Mal thought with a hint of bitterness, growing up in poverty and in an apartment that could probably fit into the museum's entryway. The Four kept to themselves, always off to the side. All particularly aware of the stares the other students gave them, the quiet whispers of gossiping about what just happened; as if the Four had any control over what the press found interesting.
Carlos had to deal with the brunt of it all, his acute hearing not allowing him to ignore the whispers. He hated the ones that speculated about his father the most, as if he didn't have those questions himself and wanted answers. The rumors that swirled about his and Jay's supposed hidden cruelty were also grating. Because of the thugs and thieves on the Isle, they all assumed he and his best friend shared their brutal nature. Never mind they had never given any of the students reason to suspect them. Even when Audrey and her crew were blatantly taunting them, they each had turned the other cheek and walked away. That wasn't enough to quell the gossip mill, they were all still seen as criminals. They always skittered away from them anytime they went into a room or sat anywhere.
Sometimes he was tempted to let Mal loose, might as well be as brutal as they think they are. The only thing holding his tongue was the fact that they could weather salacious gossip and suspicious stares. They couldn't survive being banished back to the Isle.
Though seeing Mal's glower, perhaps they ought to buy her two desserts for putting her through today. Neither he nor Evie really thought the press would find out about the field trip, much less that they would all attend. Perhaps he needed to stop underestimating the paparazzi's tenacity.
Their chaperone went over the protocol. They were free to go through the museum at their own pace and look at whatever exhibits they wanted. Lunch would be at 12pm, they would have to eat at that hour otherwise the lunchroom wouldn't give them meal credits for food.
He pulled out the extra credit assignment as the teacher droned on.
Choose one reading assignment: Romeo & Juliet, The Great Gatsby, or Les Misérables (extra 2 points).
Find the exhibit(s) that covers the time period in which the reading takes place.
How do(es) the exhibit(s) connect to the story?
Do you think the era had greatly influenced the novel? Why or why not?
Could the story have been written today? Why or why not?
Write a short essay (approx. 300 words) explaining each answer.
Carlos and Evie wished they could take the longer novel, Les Misérables, but both weren't even halfway through the gargantuan book. Mal and Jay had already finished it and felt they may as well make the most of the assignment and get as much credit as they could.
Evie wanted Romeo & Juliet and he took The Great Gatsby. He didn't care either way and felt it was a way to lessen the chance of the teacher suspecting they were cheaters. It was bad enough they were watched like hawks through every test. No matter how well they did, some teachers couldn't believe any of them would do so well and even better than their Auradon born counterparts.
Mal took the map and came up with a strategy.
"We might as well see everything we can. It's essentially a huge spiral, so we'll start at the top of the museum and work our way down. Luckily, the cafeteria is in the middle. So once we reach half-way, we'll stop for lunch and then continue on. We should be able to hit everything by 5:30 when we have to board the bus. If not, then at least enough to do the assignment."
The other three agreed and Evie was all but bouncing because the first several exhibits had to do with fashion.
"So first up is the Hall of Crowns, then the Hall of Gowns, and then the Hall of Armor," she blue witch said excitedly, rushing to the elevator. The other three quickly followed so they wouldn't get lost or separated.
Although Mal had her doubts, once their self-guided tour got under way, she found herself having a good time. The other students seemed to have gone straight to exhibits they thought pertained to their assignment, so they were by themselves.
But without judgmental stares and whispers, they were able to enjoy themselves.
"Oh, this is so me…and practical," Evie said of a diadem that was mounted with fist sized sapphires and looked like it weighed ten kilos. "This would be my 'everyday' tiara. It even has matching earrings."
"Yeah, that would tear through your ear," Mal pointed out lightly.
"Fashion is pain Mal. Fashion is pain."
Jay had his camera on him, curtesy of the Crown and the Arts Department at Auradon Prep. He had been taking pictures like crazy.
"You'd make a lot of money, selling those to the press," Mal told him sarcastically, knowing he would never.
But she also wasn't wrong.
"Hey, got to make money somehow. Now smile," he ordered the pink haired fae.
Mal submitted but pulled in Carlos, not wanting to be pictured by herself. He automatically wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and told Jay he wanted copies.
They spent longer in the Hall of Crowns than they ought to have, but there were too many goofy picture opportunities. There were several where Evie and Mal had stooped to make it seem the crowns were on top of their head, with goofy faces Jay took all the photos he could. Luckily with a digital camera, that was basically limitless.
Even Carlos was a good sport and posed under tiaras and a scepter.
There was even more color commentary in the Hall of Gowns. All the iconic finery Auradon had to offer. Queen Belle's coronation gown, Queen Rapunzal's wedding gown, Sultana Jasmine's gown during Unification, they were all there.
"That would do nothing for my figure," Carlos said about a particularly poofy number that was Cinderella's ball gown the night the prince fell in love with her.
Evie looked in awe, admiring the work that not only went into imagining such beautiful items but their construction. The gowns were older than she was, but still looked as perfect as the day they were sewn.
I'm going to have a gown here, one day.
Hope and ambition swelled in her chest, a dream that was for the first time well within her grasp.
The mood only ruined when some unknown tourney players thought they ought to make a comment when they passed them.
"Didn't anyone tell you princess that the Evil Queen Ravenna doesn't have royal status here? You'll never have a gown fit for royalty," he sneered at Evie, breaking her day dream; the idiots thinking she had designs on marrying a prince and owning a gown for the occasion.
The smile fell from her face as she was reminded again that although her mother had been a queen, she was not a princess and probably never would be; not only was she baseborn but Ravenna was officially disentitled when she was banished to the Isle. For whatever reason, some students wanted to keep reminding her; others had taken to calling her "princess Evie" in scorn.
Both Jay and Mal started to walk to the arrogant boy but Carlos had stopped them.
"It's not worth it guys, come on. Lets see the armor," he pleaded, not wanting to cause a scene and potentially be banished from going on field trips again.
"Yeah, they're just jerks. It's not worth it," Evie pleaded, wanting to get back to having fun and ignore the mean boys.
They stopped, knowing how important school was to them. But while the boys were still laughing at her friend's expense and walking backwards and not paying attention, a quick flick of Mal's wrist had them all falling flat onto their faces. It looked like one even broke his nose. Other students who had witnessed it started to laugh as well, as the tourney jocks were not universally loved.
"Walk much?" someone they recognized from the band derided the boys, most students assuming they weren't looking where they were going; too busy being cruel to the new students.
"Mal," Carlos chided with no heat, suppressing a smile as he didn't want to encourage her.
"What? That wasn't me, that was instant karma," although her delighted smirk did nothing to prove her innocence.
"Do not bleed on the exhibits," a museum curator who happened to be there harshly told the boys as they wobbled up, unsure on their feet.
Her friends couldn't hold in the smile and their mood lifted again. They made their way to the Hall of Armor, trying to get through the exhibits in time for lunch.
They thought they'd like the armor exhibit more, but it was more of the same to their eyes. It was filled mostly with the Knights of Camelot donated items. All of it polished as if they had never seen a battle, perhaps the museum thought burnt or dented armor would be too traumatizing for children.
The Isle Four made their way through the top floor and eventually came across the Hall of Villains. They hesitated, unsure if they should see what Auradon thought of their parents.
"Come on, we might as well see what it's about. The Great Gatsby was written soon before the wars. Maybe they have baby pictures of your parents," Mal encouraged them.
The four walked into the gloomy exhibit room, the light almost non-existent. There were portraits of lesser villains, their stories reduced to blurbs beneath their pictures. They came to the main room and there stood perfect replica wax figures of Cruella, Jafar, Ravenna, and dead center was Maleficent.
It seemed overkill to not only dedicate the entire room to the four villains, but the display seemed almost reverential; each getting a podium to lift them up in almost veneration.
Carlos stared at the figure of Cruella, her figure seeming a mockery rather than a monument to a powerful being that had almost put Auradon to its knees. Maleficent, Ravenna, and Jafar had all been modeled with their weapons of power: The Dragon Staff, Magic Mirror and Poisoned Apple, and Cobra Staff respectively. Their stories were epic sagas that started wars and their contribution to history still felt. Their portraits loomed behind the figures, the sole ones on a grand wall.
Cruella's wax figure had a mad look upon her and she was chasing puppies. Her crime of animal kidnapping and cruelty didn't exactly match the punishment she received. Hardly on par with the other three, but she had always been named as one of the worst villains with them, for reasons unknown to any of them.
He felt himself floating away from the museum and to another place. Where her deranged look was a daily occurrence and instead of terrified puppies, it was a terrified child who didn't understand why his mother yelled at odd hours of the night or wanted him to clean until his fingers bled.
Before that memory took hold of him, he immediately removed himself from the exhibit and walked towards the exit.
The other three had the same idea, vowing to never again come to that exhibit.
"I'm sorry," Mal said, in a rare moment of contrition. "I don't know why I thought…it was dumb of me to make us go in there."
"You didn't hold any of us at magic point, Mal," Jay reasoned with her. They all thought they could handle it and that was proven wrong immediately.
"There were definitely no baby pictures, so…" Evie said to try to lighten the mood. It only half worked.
"Onward and downward," Mal told them, they still had an hour before the cafeteria would serve lunch.
They made their way through the Hall of Castles. That was an interesting exhibit, seeing the architectural wonders and how much upkeep they each had to maintain.
Perhaps my mother isn't too crazy for wanting one so badly.
Evie thought as she saw the amenities of each castle and the luxury they offered. The history of updating with the times while still maintaining its historical charm was staggering. The fact that Auradon had so many was mind boggling. She rather would have had her mother encourage her to go into some professional field and earn a castle rather than ensnare a prince for one. It certainly would have caused a lot less resentment.
The Hall of Castles then led to the Hall of Magical Artifacts. It held everything from Aladdin's Lamp, although it technically was the Genie's but in grand Auradonian fashion they tended to glaze over the magical beings' contribution, to Maleficent's Spinning Wheel – unless of course the magical being was the villain then they made sure to mention that.
A simple spinning wheel that had belonged to an old nameless spinster, Mal wondered if the original owner had known it would have been her spinning wheel that sparked the beginning of the Great Fae War.
"That's it?" Jay asked incredulously. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, he didn't even really know what a spinning wheel was or what it did, but it was just an old looking thing that didn't look like it could hurt a fly much less wield a perilous curse.
"Excuse you," Mal took exception to his tone. "It's a cursed object, it doesn't need to look scary."
"I'm just sayin', I think a cursed sword or…even one of the tiaras would have been cooler."
"When would Aurora even come across a sword? Maleficent cursed an object she knew the girl would be around. It's called strategy."
Jay just rolled his eyes, still thinking a spinning wheel was lame. He met eyes with Carlos, who would never say anything against Mal but Jay knew he agreed the spinning wheel was dorky.
They moved on and saw the Mad Hatter's Hat, the Cursed Rose, King Tritan's Trident, Cinderalla's Glass Slipper, the Golden Pelydryn, and the ruins of the Magic Mirror. All of these relics of magic and they were wasted in a museum.
I don't understand how these powerful beings, some of them descendants of gods, would give up their power. What does King Adam have on them?
Mal wondered how exactly King Adam gained power, it didn't make sense to her that these kings and queens would "vote" for unification. Even if King Adam did help with the wars, she didn't think he helped to the point where they ought to pay fealty to him, his price for tribute being their objects of power if they had any. She could maybe understand it if he had taken them for his own use, but to put them away in a museum to never be used?
None of it made sense to her; she thought there must be some missing puzzle piece that tied it all together to make sense.
They came to the epicenter of the museum, above them an intricate dome mural and a single floating wand. They didn't need to read the plaque to guess whose it was.
The Fairy Godmother's Wand.
Although they had no interest or plans of every actually locating it, it seemed fate had other ideas.
There it was, something so powerful that it could trap the most powerful fae and dark witches and wizards alike and bind their powers.
Mal didn't understand how something she could probably snap in half with no issue could cause so much pain.
The blue light that surrounded it they assumed was some sort of force field, probably an insanely powerful one given the object it was protecting. It was the only item in the museum protected as such, everything else – including cursed objects – was only protected by glass.
Mal eyed the plaque and read out loud,
"Twelve inches, fir, core made from the hair of the Star Queen Yvaine. The silver wrought from moonlight. Gifted to Nadine FéeMarraine, star fae, to protect over humanity. Best for transfiguration – no shit – and charms."
"That's what kept us on the Isle for seventeen years," Carlos said softly, just as unbelieving something so innocuous could have done it to them.
What he didn't say was that not only did it keep them on the Isle. It kept their parents there too. It kept them from venturing out when food was scarce. It kept the pollution in so they couldn't see the sun or the stars. It kept them from the ocean, Auradon, and everything else that was good or could have helped them in the world.
Staring at the wand hurt almost as staring at wax figures of their parents. Both had been instrumental in the scars, seen and unseen, they each carried.
Lost in their thoughts, they didn't notice a gaggle of girls observing them.
"Look at those villain kids. You know they want to steal the wand. They were probably sent here by their evil parents to take it and brake down the barrier. They shouldn't be allowed anywhere near it," Audrey whispered to her friends, they each nodded their head in agreement.
Why else would they look so intently at Fairy Godmother's Wand?
They each whispered their theory, the next one worse than the last.
Carlos was so lost in his melancholy that he didn't even hear them.
Mal was the first to shake her out of her daze. The wand was nothing to them now; she wouldn't let it be part of their life anymore.
"It's time for lunch," she told the others and they blinked out of their own trances. They were happy to think of anything besides the island, and their stomachs rumbled at the thought of food.
They had finally been taken off nutritional supplements and their restricted diet. One of Mal's new favorite pastimes was trying out new foods and seeing what she liked. The variety Auradon and beyond had to offer meant that she could probably try something new every day for the rest of her life. She had every intention of tasting everything the world had to offer. As they walked towards the cafeteria, she had remembered seeing a particular part of the museum she really wanted to check out.
"You guys go ahead and order me something I haven't tried before," Mal told Evie and Jay as she grabbed Carlos' hand and started to lead him in another direction.
"Where are you going?" Evie asked, confused that Mal was going back towards an exhibit they had already seen.
"Remember that suggestion you had yesterday? I'm taking you up on it."
"What suggestion? I don't' remember…oh right," she smirked as she remembered exactly what her friend was talking about. "Have fun, don't get expelled," She said under her breath.
"What are you talking about?" Jay asked, wondering why his girlfriend and best friends were acting so weird.
"I'll tell you later," she whispered, not wanting to risk an adult or a gossipy student hearing them.
Carlos was confused as to where they were going but he implicitly trusted his girlfriend so he just went with it.
He was more confused when they found themselves in a deserted hallway and then inside what looked to be a storage closet. It appeared to be where the museum kept its extra maps, pamphlets, and other paper supplies.
So no one is surprised or shocked
Keep this door securely locked
With graceful and intricate waves of her hand, her magic in the form of green light and fire seeped into the door and he heard the clicking sound of the antique locks falling into place.
Although this place is used to store
Let all who see it completely ignore
Let all what we do be kept bound
Let no one hear a moan or sound
A glimmering green light then encased the entire room and Carlos was even more befuddled than before.
But then Mal smiled wickedly and pulled him by his school polo into a searing kiss. He was still a bit confused but happily returned the kiss with equal fervor.
"Mal, what are we doing?" he asked between kisses. He didn't want to stop but what was left of his reasoning thought that perhaps the museum, and chancing expulsion, wasn't the most appropriate place for this kind of activity.
"We," she replied as her hands made quick work of loosening his polo and unbuckling his belt. "are making a good day from a shitty morning."
Part of him knew they ought to stop. Despite the rough morning, it was particularly reckless to do amorous activities in public. But when Mal found his favorite spot on his neck and started to suckle, it was easy to rationalize anything she wanted.
She magic-ed the door, we'll be fine.
Whatever happened, she just couldn't stop what she was doing with her lips. To get a better angle, he lifted her up and she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist and he pressed her against the wall.
She mewled in pleasure as his hardness rubbed against her sex, loving the friction and how his hands were all over her.
"Gods, I've missed your hands," she huskily said into his ear and nibbled.
The air around them started to electrify with their passion and power, his own magic had gotten strong enough to manifest itself in a silver light. It started to crackle and pop, intertwining with her green fire in a storm around them.
Too lost in each other, they didn't even notice and her magic made anyone outside the room none the wiser.
She yelped in surprise when he tore through her panties, not tolerating the barrier between them any longer. He smiled unapologetically, red eyes met glowing green and she tore through his polo in retaliation; hands exploring the expanse of skin that had hardened into more lean muscle during their time in Auradon.
In a swift movement, he had her turned away from him; holding both her hands above her head and she was unable to move. Placing her feet shoulder width part so she had a solid stance. She may have had magic powers that could tear him apart with a snap of her fingers, but she was his willing hostage within his arms.
He knew she didn't care for skirts but he couldn't help but appreciate how easy it was for him to caress her thigh and move upward, easy access to where she wanted his hands the most.
Carlos paid her back in kind, nibbling at her neck and sinking his teeth into the soft flesh, not hard enough to cause any real harm but just so she felt it and he knew it'd leave a mark. He wanted everyone to know that just because they weren't affectionate in public, that Mal was taken and was his. Although the student body was afraid of her, they also couldn't ignore her beauty and it rankled him to scent others', male and female alike, attraction towards her.
When his hands finally made it to the apex of her thighs, he smirked with pride to find her already so wet for him. He rubbed along her slit, coating his fingers in her slick and finally curled into her sex.
She sighed with contentment, glad not to feel so empty but still wishing she could feel the fullness of his aching cock that rubbed against her backside.
They still hadn't found a way to obtain birth control and every shopping trip always had a chaperone. They were finding it harder and harder as time went on to resist temptation.
His khakis were down around his ankles, the only barrier between them was his boxer briefs which had a growing stain of where his cock wept with pre-come.
Mal rode his hand, whimpering in pleasure; wanting to go faster and faster. His own breathing ragged as he held onto her and as his pleasure mounted from her friction and pressure.
"Take it out," Mal told him breathily.
"What?" too preoccupied and unsure what she meant.
"Take your cock out, I want to feel it," she demanded again.
She was playing a dangerous game but she didn't care. All that mattered to her at the moment was feeling Carlos as close as she dared. It'd be the closest they had ever been, usually they were always so careful to keep their sexes apart, conscience of keeping his seed as far away from her core as possible.
But in that moment it was just the two of them in the world, the future and consequences didn't exist.
All they had was each other.
She stayed in place while he used his other hand to release his straining erection, purple from its arousal and he pulled her straight against him. It wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was as close as either of them was willing to go, even in their impassioned state.
They took a moment to take in the gravity of what they were doing, neither could muster an ounce of regret.
Mal against started to rock against his hand, reveling in the sensation of him within and behind her. She imagined when the day finally came when she could have all of him, not just his talented mouth or fingers.
Again, their powers started to swirl and fuse together; a perfect symphony of air and fire.
Carlos dipped and curled his fingers within her, trying to find the exact spot to make her gasp and moan. He had found it when she let out a trembled mewl,
"Yesssss, Carlos…gods."
He started to pay particular attention to that sweet spot of hers, within seconds her whole body tenses and she arches into him. Her magic then released with her, flowing from her and into him; overwhelming him with sensation and he soon followed in her climax. His release spurting on her bare skin, thinking of his scent lingering on her causing him to come again.
They held each other as their breathing returned to normal.
As they came down from their high, neither really believing they had just done that in a public place, but feeling better than they had that morning.
"I'm a mess. We are officially gross. Are there at least paper towels somewhere?" Carlos asked, not wanting to go out in public with these particular stains. There was a drawback of not using their mouths on each other.
What were they going to do about their torn uniforms?
Still, neither of them had any regret.
Mal looked around and didn't see any; she didn't think the pamphlets would be any help. So thankfully she knew another spell.
Let this mess remain unseen
Make us head to toe clean
So no one stops and stares
Let our uniforms be repaired
She would never thank Maleficent for the way she was raised, but she was glad she was adept at simple spells, they were coming in handy more often than she thought. She especially didn't understand why Auradon Prep discouraged magic.
Well perhaps discouraged magic for what they were currently using it for, but otherwise benign spells for cleaning she didn't see their problem with.
Magically, all evidence of their activities had vanished and all they had to do was straighten their clothes. Although neither needed help with becoming appropriate for the public, each had helped the other look presentable, but it was just another excuse to touch each other.
What should have taken a few minutes, took several more as they kept intermittently kissing as they fixed their clothes.
"I think I left a lasting piece of evidence of what we were doing," Carlos pointed out, running a gentle hand over the love bite he left on her neck. Something he took great pleasure in doing since they came to Auradon.
Mal ran her own fingers over the tender flesh, she could probably magic it away. At the very least she could ask Evie to meet her in the bathroom and to cover it up with cosmetics. But she liked to wear his bite, as much as she liked him to wear her scratch marks.
So she opted to cover the love mark with her hair, she had taken to leaving it down and it had grown just long enough to cover his mark; only if one was looking intently or if she swished her hair out of the way would anyone see it.
He smirked; glad she wouldn't get rid of it. He didn't want to be completely obnoxious and have her parade it in public – well he did want that but he wasn't insufferable enough to say so out loud – but it was something they both knew as there. Their own little secret.
She went in to kiss him again, not wanting to leave the safety and privacy of the closet. But he stopped them before they started all over again,
"We need to get to the cafeteria or we'll miss lunch."
She made a face but knew he was right. She quickly kissed him again and they fixed the rest of the closet that their magics had left in disarray.
With Carlos' acute hearing, he said the coast was clear and Mal undid the locking and didn't bother with the other spell. They popped out of the closest as if nothing had happened and walked towards the cafeteria.
Within a few steps an alarm had sounded and both immediately froze.
"That can't be for us," Carlos reasoned.
"If it is, it's a gross over reaction," Mal replied, ready to argue with anyone that an alarm because of teenage fun was ridiculous. They kept walking as they weren't sure what else to do.
They passed the Hall of Magical Artifacts as it was between them and the cafeteria.
It appeared the wand exhibit alarm had been set off as the force field was turning different colors and seemed to be the source of the alarm ringing.
Carlos covered his ears, the sound too harsh for his sensitive hearing.
Guards came running up the stairs and pointed their Tasers around, ready to fire at whoever was trying to steal the wand.
Some students had come to see the commotion, and Audrey was the first to see Carlos and Mal near the exhibit and had jumped to conclusions.
"There! It was them!" she yelled, the guards then pointed their weapons at the accused.
"What?!" Mal yelled, unbelieving that Audrey would go so far as to accuse them of trying to steal the wand.
Sure her mother had ordered her to do just that but she didn't know that and it's not what happened.
The guards walked to them and grabbed Carlos' arm,
"You're coming with us."
"I didn't do anything," he growled and pulled back, not willing to go anywhere with them.
The situation escalated with the guards raising their weapons to the two teens, Carlos pulling Mal back and his eyes going red.
"What the…?" the guard unsure what he was seeing.
The class chaperone swooped in and deescalated the situation. She clapped her hands loudly and got everyone's attention.
"What is going on here?!" incensed that her students were being treated in such a manner. "You do not raise weapons to children, have you lost your mind?!"
"Mam, we are handling the situation."
"I think not. Now, what is going on?"
The alarm finally stopped and everyone started to talk at once.
"The alarm for the Magic Wand went off, it's protocol to come here with weapons ready."
"They had been staring hard at it all morning, I'm telling you they were trying to steal it," Audrey accused again, more and more convinced that's exactly what happened despite not seeing them do it.
"I saw it too," a loyal cheerleader corroborated her story.
"Those kids are nothing but trouble," the tourney player from before had added.
"We were just walking to the cafeteria," Mal defended themselves.
"Silence!"
The whole room quieted down, most surprised such a booming voice could come out of someone so little.
"Mal," the chaperone directed the question. "What happened?"
"I don't know, we were just walking to cafeteria for lunch. Then the alarm went off."
"Lunch started half an hour ago. Jay and Evie were there but you guys weren't," Audrey butted in.
"They were still looking at exhibits, Audrey. They have their own lives, unlike your lemming friends," Evie sneered at the cheerleaders, seamlessly lying to cover for her friends as soon as she figured what was happening when she came with Jay to see what the alarm was about.
"They were coming from the Hall of Castles. They had already been to that exhibit," Audrey countered.
"Are you stalking us?" Mal asked, disbelieving she would weirdly know their movements.
"STOP," the chaperone had run out of patience several minutes ago. "Look," she pointed to a set of cameras. "There is a camera. There's a video feed right on the wand. Can we please go look and see what happened."
"Please lead the way," Mal said, exasperated and getting hangry.
The four made it clear they intended to follow the teacher and the guards but she had other ideas.
"No. You all go back to lunch. I'll speak with you later."
Shit
The students all obeyed and they all returned to the lunch room.
The four pecked at their food, all keenly aware of eyes drilling holes in the back of their heads. Mal was so pissed she couldn't even enjoy her beautiful dessert. Everything tasted like cardboard.
They knew they hadn't touched the wand, but they couldn't recall if they had seen cameras in the hallway where they had messed around in the closet.
"OK, they'll probably just look at the wand footage. They have no reason to check the others, if there are cameras," Carlos reasoned.
"What if they check all of them? Even if we didn't touch the wand, that bitch pointed out we weren't in the cafeteria," Mal angrily spat.
"Well there definitely wasn't a camera in the closet. So they can't prove we did anything for sure."
"Yeah, we just need to figure out a totally innocent reason we went into a closet…together…for almost half an hour…"
Of course nothing came to mind, they knew exactly what it'd look like to their chaperone.
"Oh my gods, what are we going to do?" Evie started to panic, her head in her hands.
"See! Look how guilty they look. They totally tried to steal the wand," Audrey hissed in triumph across the room.
They'll surely be expelled now.
The others had to agree, the four looked rather tense and it made sense with all that Audrey had told them.
Oh gods, we're going to be expelled because Mal can't keep her hands off Carlos' freckled dick.
Evie started to take quick breaths, anxiety starting to grip her.
"Evie, calm down," Mal told her friend, the last thing they needed was them totally losing their cool.
"I can't just 'calm down' Mal, I'm having a gods damned panic attack here," she snipped at her friend.
"That's it."
"What's it?"
"Panic attack. I'll say seeing my mom's wax figure and the wand reminded me about the Isle and it induced a panic attack. I'll start crying…"
"You don't cry Mal."
"Damnit, you're right…I'll figure out a way to cry. It's workable."
"They're never going to believe it," Jay said, worried but it may have been the best plan they had.
"Probably not, but they can't prove it one way or another. Even if they inspect the closet, they're not going to find evidence of anything, I cleaned it by magic. It's our best shot. I had a panic attack, Carlos being the good and understanding boyfriend he is escorted me to somewhere private until I calmed down. We'll say we're really sorry for how it looked and we understand that next time we would get the attention of an adult. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, blah blah blah. It's workable. It's at least a viable alternative. They can't expel us if they have no definitive proof."
The each agreed it was their best shot and Evie calmed down considerably. If anyone could pull off such a lie, it was Mal.
Now that the weight of being caught was off their shoulders, they each visible relaxed and enjoyed their meal.
Jay had ordered her something called a chicken club sandwich, it was rather tasty. She only ate half because she was more interested in her dessert. It was rather massive and the Chantilly cream just melted on her tongue and set off every pleasure center in her brain.
It wasn't as good as Carlos' talented hands or mouth, but it was damn near close.
The tart strawberries were the perfect complement to the not too sweet cream and the buttery short cake tied everything together.
When Mal made sounds he had heard not ten minutes earlier he asked,
"Should I be jealous or concerned?"
He meant it as a joke but he was a little affronted when she nodded and smiled. As revenge, he caught her hand mid bite and stole a bit of her dessert.
Now they were in a heated staring contest, Mal's mind going to all sorts of delightful places; mostly of Carlos naked in her dorm and covered with the cream while she cleaned him off with strawberries.
Carlos' eyes flickered red as if he could read her mind and he whole heartedly agreed with the plan.
"OK, you guys seriously need to stop eye fucking each other, otherwise they certainly won't believe the 'panic attack' story," Jay warned but it was mostly because he was started to feel the effect of his friends' amorous stares. Now he wondered if Evie would be willing to have their own fun in some random closet.
But she had just gone through a legitimate scare so he thought better than to ask. He did reach over to her hand and gave a comforting squeeze. She smiled at him and squeezed back, glad to have him there with her.
Mal rolled her eyes but toned it down a bit, she settled for playing footsie under the table and having a nice lunch with her friends.
The chaperone came to their table a little before 1pm.
"Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. I want to apologize, we reviewed the footage and it's clear none of you were near the wand and didn't cause the alarm to go off. It was a couple of students from another school, apparently they were dared to touch the force field. Officer Hibbard, do you have anything to say?"
The chaperone stared hard at the old security guard, a man mostly bald but what hair he had left was snow white. He seemed insulted that he was being asked to apologize to a bunch of teenagers for simply doing his job, but he couldn't risk going against an Auradon Prep faculty member.
The funds from each of their parents that donated to the museum paid his salary.
"I'm sorry, it seems we were too…hasty …in our reactions."
"No problem, say 'hi' to the misses for us," Carlos was the only one to reply, it was sarcastically but all four teens were glad that it didn't seem like they reviewed any other footage and hopefully never would.
The Four were pleased they were off the hook and none the wiser of Mal and Carlos' side adventure. They were surprised, however, when Audrey was pulled from the cafeteria.
For the first time all day, the gossip wasn't about them and they all wondered what was happening to the head cheerleader.
The princess didn't understand why she was being pulled aside, her worry started to grow they she was escorted to the security office.
"Audrey, do you want to tell me why you told the security officers you saw Mal and Carlos trying to steal the wand?"
"I didn't say they stole the wand," she automatically denied.
"You said 'There! It was them!' when we came to the scene," the officer contradicted her.
She stumbled over her words for a moment, it was what she said.
"But I didn't exactly say they stole it…I meant that I thought it was them."
"So you did not see anyone trying to steal the wand?"
The chaperone knows she didn't, the footage clearly showed Audrey didn't show up until well after the two boys fled the scene.
"No…not exactly…"
"But you implied it. We have footage of you pointing directly at the four, and witnesses stating you accused them. Why did your friends seem to verify your story?"
The only answer the chaperone would accept was "Because we were lying" as that's the only answer that would be the truth. But she wanted the princess to admit it, she was giving the teen a chance to come clean and redeem herself.
"But Ms. Robinson, you had to have seen the look on their faces when they saw the wand earlier. They stared at it for like half an hour."
It seemed Audrey had no intension of being honest, which was utterly disappointing and not becoming of someone of her station.
"Audrey, this is a museum, what else do you do at exhibits?"
The princess wanted to stomp her foot in frustration, the chaperone just didn't understand. They were villain kids, they had plans for that wand. She just knew it.
Audrey tried to explain herself again but Ms. Robinson wasn't having any of it.
"Officer Hibbard, I apologize for the misunderstanding. We will be having a talk with the Headmistress when we get back to school," she promised the security guard, Audrey deflated; accepting she was in trouble.
Resentment and anger started to build up, she just knew it was Mal's fault. No matter what anyone said, the Four looked at that wand funny and no one could tell her otherwise.
The chaperone and student left, the officer had logged the use of security footage.
Mal should have had more faith in her power and spells. When going over the footage of the Hall of Castles, her and Carlos sneaking out of the closet didn't appear out of the ordinary to anyone who saw it.
The bus ride back was rather tense. The students all wanting to talk about what happened but not daring to since the four looked none too pleased and some felt intimidated by their glower, with the exception of Mal who was dead asleep from the motion sickness medicine the chaperone gave her.
None could talk about Audrey either, since she still held sway and she was right there. It was eerily quiet.
Like she was in the morning, Mal had to be carried back to her dorm. This time it was Carlos who carried her bridal style to bed, and they all let her sleep. She was tired from the medication, from not being able to sleep in, and overall it was an emotionally exhausting day.
They all agreed they'd have a quick dinner and leave the homework assignment for tomorrow.
As Carlos took off her boots so she's be more comfortable, Mal started to mumble,
"I'm going to get Audrey," she slurred an ominous promise.
"No, you're not going to kill her," he said gently, knowing it was mainly the medication talking.
"Not kill her, prank war."
"It might be more merciful to kill her," knowing how traumatizing Mal's prank wars could be.
Last he heard, Uma still smelled like shrimp.
"She's trying to get us expelled; she's trying to get us sent back to the Isle."
Carlos sighed, that was true. He didn't know if a prank war was the answer, but they had to do something about Audrey. The princess had it out for them, and that day she had gotten too close for their comfort in succeeding.
"She doesn't get to hurt you, no one gets to hurt you," she said as fiercely as she could under the influence.
He felt a tender wave of affection for his emerald eyed beauty.
Some saw her as cold, vicious, and cut throat; a miniature of her mother. But here, Carlos saw her as fierce and loving, willing to end those who would hurt those she loved.
No one had ever loved him like Mal did. Not even Evie, whose sisterly affection he could not deny but he doubted she would have it in her to do what Mal could.
Mal at her core was a survivor, and there had been so many instances where it would have been smarter, certainly easier, if she had just cut him loose. There were certainly a line of other villains who would line up to be the consort of the next Isle leader. But she braved courting her mother's wrath just to be with him. She saw him as worthy of the risk, he didn't always know why. With her he felt cherished and loved; he was someone worth her love.
Mal would have her revenge, even if it were in petty ways that made her feel better. He would just have to do whatever it took to help her not get caught.
She was softly snoring, deep in sleep. He smiled and kissed her forehead and whispered,
"I love you."
He tucked her in and went towards the mess hall. He needed to tell the others of the ensuing prank war on Princess Audrey.
Please be sure to review! Thanks so much! Sorry for the late update but Stranger Things 2 called and I could not resist. lol